divx/xvid coversion - artifact troubles

[rip-em-up]

I'm relatively new to conversion, but i seem to be having one consistent problem - any time i start the dvd to divx (or xvid) conversion, the final product is riddled with compression artifacts. i've tried changing several things, all to no avail.

i'm raised the bitrate -- this helps but ONLY if i raise it to a ridiculous amount like 4000 Kb/s. that would create a huge file.

deinterlace - several different virtualdub options -- smart deinterlace, deinterlace, deinterlace/smooth (this was a minor help, though it took 8 hours for half a movie), field bob, etc. doesn't help. it does get rid of jagged lines, but nothing else

the same happens on xvid or divx. i've tried this mostly in virtualdub, but also in vidomi and flaskmpeg, each with similar results. i've also looked at countless guides and nothing.

what am i missing? any help or a pointing in the right direction would be appreciated. thanks...

[rip-em-up]

alright, somebody's gotta have an idea. anyone?

and if i could have posted this in a more appropriate forum, please feel free to let me know. thanks a lot...

[Conquest10]

well, when you convert to divx you ARE compressing it. so it should have compression artifacts.

[rip-em-up]

yes, i'm aware that i'm compressing it. i know that divx is a compressed file. nonetheless, the picture shouldn't have as much digital noise as it does.

maybe i'll give Gordian Knot a try. people seem to have some luck with that set up.

[crahak]

Gordian Knot might not be the most user friendly program, but it is THE tool to make good looking DivX rips (as long as you know what you're doing, of course).

[rip-em-up]

yeah, i'm pretty sure i know what i'm doing. i've actually made rips for about a year or so now, it's just lately that it's been troublesome.

i used Gordian Knot and it is kind of long-winded but it does work. the artifacts are STILL there, so i'm thinking, that might just be the best possible job that can be done for this particular file. i know i'm not imagining all this, but i've seen better looking divx files.

but oh well -- i now have a better tool to do it with.